Girlfriend killer handed life term

Gemma Finnigan, 24, was found at a house in Church View, Boldon, South Tyneside, in September 2013. She had been strangled and stabbed. At Newcastle Crown Court, Daniel Johnson admitted the offence on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Northumbria Police

Johnson, 33, must serve at least 20 years before he can be considered for parole. He was initially charged with murder but the prosecution accepted his admission of the lesser charge.

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Teenager wins scholarship

Colin Briggs

BBC Look North

Stuart Middleton, 15, from Northumberland, is one step closer to achieving his dream of becoming an F1 racing driver.

The teenager from Ashington has won a scholarship with the Ginetta Junior Championship team. It gives aspiring racing drivers the chance to take their first steps on the ladder into top level motorsport.

BBC

Stuart, who suffers from a mild form of Aspergers Syndrome, competed against nearly 60 other youngsters to win his place.

Pardew 'not a unifying figure'

A 2-0 win at West Brom on Sunday was Newcastle's fifth in a row in all competitions, and moved the Magpies up to eighth in the Premier League. But prior to that Newcastle had won just five games in the whole of 2014.

"A good run of results will not alter our position. Our stance remains the same," the sackpardew.com group said. "While stability is often offered as a reason to keep him in post, it is self evident that his very presence and the manner in which he gets his results creates an instability.

Getty Images

"He is not a unifying figure that the club's fans can ever stand behind."

Hoping for justice after Medomsley abuse

When a grown man tells you he would have killed himself if he could have during his time at Medomsley, you know that any legal case won't make a huge difference to many of their daily lives.

Things went badly wrong behind the high security fences on a County Durham hilltop decades ago. Unspeakable things were done to some of those young men - often there for things you would never be jailed for today.

After locking away those painful memories for so long they are now speaking out hoping for justice.

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Police contacted by 915 people

Francesca Williams

BBC News

It's been confirmed that 915 former inmates of a youth detention centre have now come forward to say they were physically or sexually abused at Medomsley Detention Centre near Consett in the 1970s and 1980s.

Durham Police is investigating historic claims a paedophile ring operated at the centre.

The investigation was triggered after former prison officer Neville Husband (pictured) was jailed in 2003 for abusing five youths. After being released from prison, he died from natural causes in 2010.

BBC

His former colleague Leslie Johnson, a storeman, was jailed for six years in 2005 for sexual offences. He has also since died. One detainee claims that

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More employees to be contacted

Det Supt Paul Goundry, who is leading the investigation into abuse at a former County Durham detention centre, said the force would be contacting "a number" of other former employees.

"There is still a huge amount of work which has to be done and we are in close contact with the Crown Prosecution Service, who ultimately will decide if there are grounds to charge individuals with criminal offences," he said.

BBC

The four prison officers, who worked at Medomsley at different times between the 1970s and 1980s, have been voluntarily interviewed by detectives but not arrested.

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Former wardens questioned

Francesca Williams

BBC News

Four former wardens at a youth detention centre have been interviewed by police.

Durham Police is investigating claims a paedophile ring operated at Medomsley Detention Centre near Consett. More than 900 former inmates have come forward to say they were sexually or physically abused there in the 1970s and 1980s.

BBC

Det Supt Paul Goundry, who is leading the operation, said the force would be contacting "a number" of other former employees.

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On lunchtime BBC Look North

Stephanie Cleasby

BBC Look North

The British Transplant Games are coming to Tyneside next summer.

BBC

The four-day competition at venues across Newcastle and Gateshead from 30 July will celebrate the achievements of hundreds of athletes who've had life-saving organ transplant surgery. I'll have more on this story on

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Transplant Games to bring £2m

I've been on Tyneside's Quayside this morning ahead of the launch of the British Transplant Games.

The games are one of the largest annual sports events in the UK and next summer's event will take place at Gateshead International Stadium.

BBC

The games last for four days from 30 July to 2 August, and along with the 700 competitors, some 2,000 supporters are expected to descend on the region, which organisers say will inject about £2m into the local economy.

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Councils to work together?

Hannah McMahon

BBC Tees

Plans are being unveiled for a new economic body covering the five councils across Teesside and Darlington.

Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Stockton, Darlington and Redcar and Cleveland councils say working together as one would attract more jobs and investment to the region, as well as greater powers from Whitehall.

Middlesbrough Labour MP Andy McDonald says: "This is a body which will come together with much greater clout, to deal with issues of transport, infrastructure, economic development and skills and so on."